Tetrahedral kite



July 10, 1934. L J HSHEL 1,965,634

TETRAHEDRAL KITF- Filed Jan. 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR- WWW,

6/; ATTORNEY- L. J. FISHEL TETRAHEDRAL KITE July 10, 1934.

Filed Jan. 24, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fla-10.

150 J. fISI-IE INVENTOR- Patented July 10, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to aerial toys, particu-- larly to kites to be flown by children or adults, but the principles, novel features, and construction thereof may possibly be used also for aerial vehicles or other structures.

The main purpose-of my'invention is to provide a skeleton of a tetrahedron, two appropriately chosen sides of which will be covered by suitable sheet material so that if an appropriate force is applied in the right direction to said partly covered tetrahedron and an appropriate speed thereof is developed in the-air, the same will rise and float, as is well known in the art.

Another object of this invention is to provide units of such tetrahedral structure which may easily be assembled into cellular larger structures of such tetrahedrons which also will be adapted to rise and float in the air, as is also well known to those versed in this art.

A further important object or this invention is to provide a device of the character mentioned which will embody novel elements of construction enabling the units of such tetrahedrons as well as the combination tetrahedrons built up of such units to be easily assembledor disassembled.

7 The invention is illustrated in a diagrammatical manner and also in a more detailed Way to show a preferred embodiment of the constructional details in the drawings accompanying the specification and being made a part thereof, and in which I Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one tetrahedron kite unit, shown in the position in which it will fly in the air;

Fig. 2 is a similar diagrammatical view of a combination tetrahedral kite built up of four units, as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fractional perspective View of one apex of the skeleton of the tetrahedral kite unit constructedaccording to my invention, while Fig. 4 illustrates a plan view of such meeting point or apex of the elements from which the skeleton of the tetrahedral unit is built, also showing a connecting member and a fragment of the "adjacent apex of the next unit when two of such units are desired to be assembled, and

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the connecting member shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a blank from which the apex receiving or assembling unit shown in Fig. 3 may be formed;

Fig. 7 shows a preferred form of a blank by which the two adjacent sides of the tetrahedral skeleton may be covered, while Figs. 8 and 8a are sectional fragmentary elevations showing the preferred methods of securing the cover on the skeleton rods;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective detail of an improved form of the receiving sleeves in the corner assembling piece shown in Fig. 3, while Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate examples of novelornamentations to be used on the sides of mytetrahedral kite unit. 7

Referring now more closely to the drawings by characters of reference, the numeral 20 indicates my tetrahedral kite unit in general, such tetrahedral shape being preferably formed by identical equilateral triangles as it is well known, of which in my construction the two marked by the characters 21 and 22 are covered with a sheet material like paper or cloth. The skeleton of a tetrahedral unit will preferably be formed in my invention of light rods 23 connected at the points or apices of the tetrahedral skeleton by the assembling joints generally indicated by the numeral 24 (Fig. 3). It is well known that if such a tetrahedral unit, the two sides of which are covered by a sustaining sheet of material, is moved by a force 25 in the general position and. direction indicated in Fig. l, the same will rise into the air and may remain there in a floating condition, and I do not claim as my invention the use of such a unit for such a purpose, since the same has been used for such purposes before and the theory and principles thereof have been subjects of thorough investigations; and the rules and laws relating to the best construction of its elements and angles have been established. My invention relates only to novel constructions of such tetrahedral units.

In Fig. 2 I illustrate in adiagrammatic manner, the combination of such tetrahedral units into larger tetrahedral kites. As it is shown in said figure, four such tetrahedral units or cells will have to be assembled in the manner indicated in said figure forming a larger tetrahedral unit. Four elements or units of which the said larger tetrahedral is built up, are generally indicated by the numerals 26, 2'7, 28 and 29, each having two respective covered or sustaining surfaces 26a, 26b, 27a. 27b, 28a, 28b, 29a, 29b, the units 1 being assembled or secured together at their apices in the manner indicated in Fig. 2 and through the use of assembly or joint elements, best illustrated in Fig. 3 to be described hereinafter. When such a combination unit is moved in the air in the general position indicated in Fig. 2 and in the direction of the force 30, the same will rise and float in a similar manner as a single unit indicated in Fig. l, with the exception that such combined unit will have much larger lifting power than such single unit. Indeed, it is the theory that with the right inclination of the angles of the covered sides of the individual cells or units, such combination will have not only proportionately larger buoyancy than the single units of which it is composed, but it will have a still larger lifting power. That is, the device will be lighterand more strongly reinforced and resisting in such combination than it would follow proportionately from the number of units of which it is composed, taking as the basis the sustaining-power, weight and resistance to outside forces of a unit.

In a similar manner, as has been described hereinbefore, such multiple units of four each may again be used as units for building-up still larger combinations, the next combination of course comprising four such units of four, therefore, the next larger combination containing sixteen elementary units or cells, etc.

In building up a unit tetrahedral flying kite, I preferably use wooden sticks or rods of comparatively small diameter so as to make the final structure as light in weight as possible, such sticks being generally indicated by the. numeral 23, six of such sticks of equal length being used for one kite unit, and I first make a skeleton form of a tetrahedron as indicated in Fig. i. To join the three respective rods at each apex'of the tetrahedron, I use the assemblingor corner jointing piece, 24, best shown in the perspective of Fig. 3. Each of such corner assembling pieces is composed of a generally triangular base plate 31 which may have the upstanding marginal reinforcing walls32 along its sides. From each corner of said base plate-and preferably being formed integral therewith and with said reinforcing walls 32, a receiving sleeve 33 is projecting, being turned into the direction required by the three respective sides of the skeleton of the tetrahedron. The wooden sticks 23 of the tetrahedral skeleton will be pushed into the space within these receiving sleeves 33, each of said receiving sleeves being split along its inner side, as at 34, thereby securing the respective sticks 23 in a removable manner by elastic and frictional action, as will be understood. 7

My preferred method of covering the two desiredsides 21 and 22 of a tetrahedron unit, as illustrated in Fig. 1, consists in making one blank for both such sidesfas generally indicated by the numeral 35 in Fig. 7, folding it along its center lineindicated by the dotted line 36 over the meeting edge or common stick of the two respective sides in the skeleton of the tetrahedron, such side or stick being indicated in the diagram of Fig. l by thenumeral 36a, folding its two respective halves 21a and 22a over the respective sides of the tetrahedron and then doubling the respective extensions or flaps 37 over the further four sticks forming the other four sides of the triangles of the tetrahedron surfaces 21a and 22, and finally securing the overlapping portions of the flaps 3'7 to the inside of the respective sheets or surfaces 21 and 22a, as best indicated in Fig.

two sides thereof lying against the outside of the 8. Such securing may be done by the use of any adhesives, or the overlapping portion of the marginal flaps 37 may be sewed or be secured by other mechanical means, to the tetrahedron surface 2la or 22a. Finally, I may also employ the elastic spring clips 38, indicated in Figs. 1 and 8a the construction and use of which will be understood, and which will insure that the cover sheets may be quickly secured to or removed from the respective skeleton sticks 23.

In order that the several unit cells 20 may be secured together in the manner indicated in Fig. 2, to form a combination multi-cellular kite, I employ the connecting piece 39 shown in Figs. 4 and 5 to secure the assembling pieces 24 at the apices of two adjacent tetrahedron units to one another. Said connecting piece is simply in the form of an angle-piece of sheet material, as light as the requirements of strength will permit, the

respective baseplates 31 in the two assembling pieces 24 to be connected or secured together. Each side on said angle piece has a hole 40 through which a securing screw or bolt 41 may pass being engaged in a threaded sleeve 42,-pref- 1 erably formed inwardly on .and integral with each base plate 31. I V

In Fig. 6 a sheet metal blank is illustrated from which, in a convenient and eflicient manner, the assembling piece 24 may be formed.

In Fig. 9 I illustrate certain modifications in the construction of the receiving sleeves 33, one of them being that said sleeve may have inward indentations or possibly teeth or spikes 43 which may therein be formed after the sticks 23 are in place so as to further securesaid sticks in it, and I also may form upwardly and backwardly bent portions or ears 44a1ong the meeting edges of the sleeves 33 under which some appropriate tool may be brought when it is desired to disassemble the device, so as to open up said sleeves 33, which may be pressed together into their original form when again assembling the device.

The material of the covers 21a and 22a may be paper, cloth or any other suitable substance, and I also'may employ transparent covers for the tetrahedral units thereby giving them and the combination kite built ofv them a novel attractive effect and appearance.

I finally may also provide such sides with ornaments or designs like those illustrated in Figs.

10 and 11, whether such sides be opaque or transparent. The design in Fig. 11 indicates a flying bird and a number of them employed on the sides of a multi-cellular kite particularly with 30 transparent covers, will have an exceptionally novel and artistic effect.

It will be seen that my invention provides a novel instructive and interesting toy for children, especially so since I intend to sell and distribute the same in disassembled condition, the parts of which will be assembled and secured together by the children, or adults as well, themselves. I may alsoprovide various designs for the cover blanks 35 which may be exchanged by the user of the device, or I may sell unornamented blanks, possibly with light guide lines printed thereon, and a number of design schemes so that the userhimself may ornament the sides of'his kite according'to his choice.

It will also be understood that while thepresent invention primarily aims at an aerial toy, the constructional details and principles thereof obviously may be useful for other kinds of aerial toys or even vehicles, and possibly for other types of structures as well.

Changes and variations may be made in the construction of the parts within the limits of the claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new, is:

1. In a kite assembly, a corner member composed of sheet metal provided with several divergent sleeves for receiving and holding rods, an integral triangular plate portion located between the bases of the sleeves, said plate portion having its plane extending transversely of the length of the rods, said plate portion having a centrally located aperture, an angular sheet metal bracket for connecting the corner member to an adjacent similar corner member, said bracket having a flat portion provided with a face resting against the outer face of the triangular plate portion, and a fastening element extending through the fiat portion of the bracket and through the triangular plate portion to hold the bracket and corner member together.

2. In a corner connection for tetrahedral kite structures, a centrally apertured triangular plate provided with a sleeve extending from each of its corners, said sleeves extending divergently from one another and receiving rod-like kite elements, the triangular plate being provided with an angularly bent edge reinforcing flange extending between the base portions of the three sleeves, and means for connecting the plate to a similar plate on an adjacent kite structure, comprising a bracket attached to the plate by a fastening element entering the aperture in the plate.

LEO J. FISHEL. 

